Nimnul's Nemesis
by AMountainLion
Summary: A rookie crime scene investigator becomes a real thorn in Nimnul's side. How he chooses to deal with her has consequences no one could forsee...


Nimnul's Nemesis 44

**Nimnul's Nemesis**

**AMountainLion**

**(All "Rescue Ranger" characters are the property of Disney)**

**Nimnul's Nemesis**

It was just after 9am and Susan Walker had arrived for work at the office of her employer, Ronald Roat, PI. Susan glanced at her watch and chewed on her bottom lip nervously. She was only five minutes late due to bad traffic but she knew it didn't take much to set Roat off. She fussed with her short brown hair a moment and straightened out imaginary wrinkles in her blouse before taking a seat behind her desk in the small outer office. The wheels on her office chair made a slight noise against the floor as she settled in.

Less than a second later, the cheap intercom box on the desk buzzed. "Ms. Walker, I hear you scurrying around out there. Glad to see you finally decided to come to work. Step into my office… now!"

Susan winced and sighed to herself, then stood and approached the door to Roat's office. The frosted glass of the door made it impossible to see anything beyond but she already knew Roat would be sitting behind his desk, hunched forward slightly as if ready to pounce. And sure enough, he was sitting in just such a position when she opened the door, stepped in, and closed it behind her.

"Yes, Mr. Roat?" she asked, her green eyes peering into his grey ones. She was good at stifling her nervousness and fear when need be, such as now. Still, the detective seemed to sense it and glowered at her all the more.

At 52, Ronald Roat was twice Susan's age. He had thick brown eyebrows that nearly formed a uni-brow, yet the hair atop his head was graying and receding rapidly. He briefly glanced over Susan's slender form but she was not worried about him making advances on her or the like. He had often referred to her as a 'walking stick' due to her 'lack of curves'. Judging from the magazines she found once while cleaning his office, Susan knew he liked his women severely top-heavy.

"Ms. Walker, this makes the third time you have been late for work this month," he began, his voice sounding like a low growl.

"I know Mr. Roat. It's just the traffic and--"

"And nothing," Roat bellowed and got up from his desk, circling around it to face her. "There's no excuse for it. Just like there's no excuse for the way you talk clients out of seeing me when they're waiting in the outer office."

Susan blinked, a bit surprised at Roat suddenly springing this on her. Sure, she had chatted with clients in the past while Roat had them waiting in her office for sometimes over an hour. Sometimes all they needed was someone to talk to, not a PI.

She tried to point this out now. "But sir, sometimes people are just suspicious or afraid of somebody for no reason. To lead them on and make them think have a big problem is--"

"--my job, Ms. Walker!" Roat yelled, getting in her face now. "Speaking of jobs, you no longer have one. So get out!"

Susan gaped at him a second, then closed her mouth and turned on her heel, striding out the door. She never once glanced back.

With more time on her hands now, Susan focused more on her studies. She had really only taken the job as the detective's secretary in order to help with the bills while she studied for her degree in physics. Susan began looking for other work of course, but she took her time about it and pursued her hobbies: collecting horror movies and back issues of _Scientific American_.

Roat mailed her last paycheck to her three weeks later, and only after she called about it a few times. Susan was on her way to the bank the next morning to deposit the money when she saw all the squad cars parked out front. No one was allowed inside and there was crime scene tape strewn everywhere. Susan approached an officer that was even skinnier than she was, wearing a hat down over his eyes to the point that she wondered how he could see anything.

Nevertheless he somehow spotted her and held up a hand, saying "Sorry lady, this is a crime scene. Bank's closed for the day."

Just then a couple of other officers came walking out of the bank, chatting amongst themselves. "I don't understand it. How can a bank vault door just shatter like that, without any sign of explosives?" said one of the officers to his partner.

Before Susan could think about it she answered "By lowering its temperature to 0 degrees Kelvin. Then it could just be tapped with a hammer a few times and it would fall to pieces."

That marked the beginning of Susan's new career. She was able to help the police solve the frozen bank crime, which had been committed by one Norton Nimnul. The chief of police then pulled a few strings and got Susan an internship with the police department, working as a rookie crime scene investigator. She wasn't called out to most 'normal' cases however. Her specialty was ones dealing with scientific knowledge that was used to commit crimes.

While Susan did help with a few other cases involving professors and technicians using their knowledge to commit bank robberies or fraud, Nimnul was the one professor that kept giving her and the police department trouble, over and over again. He proved very difficult to capture and when he was caught, he would always escape fairly quickly. Often he would short circuit a prison's electrical system and escape during the chaos. At other times he would mix together everyday chemicals found in common cleaning and food products, and create a powerful acid that would eat through the wall, allowing him to escape.

When all else failed he was able to bribe guards to look the other way since Nimnul had inherited a large fortune from his parents, who had been respected scientists that had invented many modern conveniences. Susan often thought that if Norton had just followed in his parents' footsteps he could have been a very positive influence on the world. Instead he came up with one half insane invention or idea after another in attempts to blackmail the city into giving him yet more money. Susan would have pitied him if he were not so dangerous.

However, no matter how many times Nimnul escaped, he would always be captured again within months or weeks. This was credited largely to Susan's knack for being able to track the mad scientist down, prove him guilty of his crimes, and then try to find better uses for the devices he created. Soon others in the department gave Susan the nickname "Nimnul's Nemesis" for her commitment to keep the insane professor off the streets. The title started out as a little joke but after the media got wind of it the name really stuck.

Susan shied away from taking full credit for Nimnul's arrest record, however. The way she saw it, the mad scientist seemed to be his own worst enemy since most of his experiments backfired on him or his machines turned on him, leaving him lucky to escape with his life. What really puzzled her was what made Nimnul's devices and plans fail almost every time. Hair-brained as some of his inventions were, they could not develop a conscience and turn on him. It was almost as if he were being consistently sabotaged…

Less than a week after his latest jailbreak, Nimnul brazenly drove a flatbed truck with a large laser cannon mounted on the back, right down into the heart of the city. He threatened to use the cannon to destroy the bank unless he was given all the money inside. And he promised that the bank would just be the first of many targets if his demands were not met. What's more, he had constructed some kind of force field around the truck, making it impossible for him to be stopped by conventional means.

The police stalled for time by negotiating with Nimnul while Susan was called in on the case. Using a simple radar gun, modified and tweaked here and there, Susan was able to detect the frequency Nimnul's force field was operating on. Then she used a cell phone jamming device to wipe out the force field completely. With the field down, the police moved in and captured Nimnul… but not before he flipped a switch, activating a timer on the laser cannon.

"Fools," Nimnul raved as he was hauled off. "Now you will wish you had done as I demanded!" He then began laughing madly, until he saw Susan racing toward the laser cannon. "You! You've ruined me for the last time! Do you hear me! You're going to pay for this, Walker!"

Susan ignored Nimnul and frantically looked over the control panel of the laser cannon. She entered codes into the keypad that Nimnul had used in the past. She flipped every switch off and hit every button, but the timer kept ticking down. There was nothing she could do. Then suddenly, the most amazing thing happened… so amazing in fact, that Susan was sure she was imagining things.

A trio of rodents came scurrying across the control panel. When they paused here and there, Susan could see there were two chipmunks and a mouse. The mouse seemed to be leading the other two, pointing out certain wires and circuits which the chipmunks would then gnaw through and quickly break. After tearing apart a few such wires the timer stopped ticking, with 9 seconds to spare. Then, as quickly as the rodents had appeared, they scurried off. Susan watched as they ran up the cannon and jumped into some kind of strange flying contraption, which took off toward the park.

To anyone who had not been paying attention, the flying machine would have looked like a child's toy, or some kind of strange model airplane with a balloon on top. The police and news crews all gave Susan the credit for stopping the timer and saving the bank. Susan was still too shocked at what she saw and only answered a few questions numbly before making herself scarce. There was no way she could have told the truth… everyone would have thought her insane, just as she was beginning to think she was herself.

Four months later, Nimnul again escaped prison during a riot. A few days after that large power surges were reported on the east side of town. Suspecting Nimnul was hiding out in the area and working on another one of his mad inventions, Susan went to the police. But she had no proof that Nimnul was behind the power surges, and the police were stretched thin as it was chasing down several other felons that had escaped. Susan knew she needed more evidence, so she drove out to the east side of town to investigate on her own. Doing so proved to be a near fatal mistake, and would change her life forever.

Tracking the power surges with some sophisticated measuring devices on loan from the university she was attending, Susan arrived at a seemingly abandoned warehouse. She knew if she could just sneak up on Nimnul and get a photograph of him that would be all the evidence the police would need to send out officers in force to apprehend him. Noticing one of the warehouse doors slightly ajar, she crept up and slipped inside… where she was promptly struck on the back of the head, knocking her out cold.

Susan awoke in a cage and rubbed her head, then heard a familiar voice from nearby.

"Well, well… glad to see you're awake."

Susan furrowed her brow, trying to place the voice, knowing it wasn't Nimnul's. She sat up and peered through the bars, her eyes widening in surprise at seeing none other than Ronald Roat- her old boss- staring back at her.

"Didn't think you'd see me again did you?" Roat asked with a sneer. "I went bankrupt not long after I fired your worthless hide… had to resort to blackmail to make ends meet, till I was caught and thrown in the can."

Susan got to her feet and glared at Roat. "Served you right… you always were a crooked detective."

Roat smirked at her. "Crooked, but I still know my stuff. After I got away, I was able to get your cell phone bugged and started tracking your moves. And I found someone very interested in knowing your whereabouts and actions."

Susan felt a chill go down her spine even before she heard Nimnul's mad laughter. Nimnul and Roat were working together.

Nimnul approached the cage with some sort of large laser rifle with at least a dozen buttons and small glowing lights all over it. "Yes, Detective Roat and I met in prison a couple of weeks before the riot. I was pleasantly surprised to find out we shared the same enemy," he said with a grin, and then glanced sidelong at Roat. "But now your usefulness has come to an end, Detective," said Nimnul, while turning the gun on Roat.

Roat blinked and began backing away. "Wait a sec… we had a deal!" he growled.

Nimnul only laughed. "The only time I make deals is when money or revenge is involved. You have no money, and I'll soon have my revenge…" he said with a brief glare at Susan. "Besides, I need to make sure this thing works."

Nimnul pulled the trigger before Roat could react. Susan had to shield her eyes from the bright flash. When she looked again, Roat was gone. She thought at first he had been vaporized by the laser gun, till she saw Nimnul laughing gleefully and peering at the floor where Roat had stood. There on the warehouse floor was a cockroach that looked as though it were struggling to move, as if it didn't know how its legs worked. Its antennae were flailing wildly and, the most bizarre thing of all: it was wearing a roach-sized version of Roat's cheap business suit!

"Roat… Roach… thought it was very fitting," Nimnul laughed, then stepped forward and brought his foot down firmly on the insect. Susan winced at the sickening crunch she heard, and then peered warily at the laser gun that Nimnul was now pointing at her again, through the bars of the cage. "As you can see, I can turn anyone into most any kind of creature I want," Nimnul chuckled, then flipped a couple switches on the gun. "Hmm… should I turn you into a pig, or a hamster? Or maybe a guinea pig?" he asked with a leer. "I do need another test animal since they always seem to escape from me… or die trying."

Susan composed herself and glared back at him through the bars. "You'll never get away with this, Nimnul. The police know where I am."

Nimnul snorted derisively. "They might know where you are but they will never recognize you," he grinned, then pulled the trigger…

Susan suddenly felt very small. She felt like her skin was crawling, and then she realized that was fur. Something brushed against her leg and she jumped, looking down to see a tail… her tail… curled and trembling around her left leg. Nimnul lowered a mirror down to floor level and Susan saw what she had become. In the spot where she had stood a moment ago, now a wide eyed mouse peered back at her in the mirror, wearing the same clothes she had been wearing as a human: a green blouse and a pair of khaki pants.

Somehow Susan got over her shock and terror at her new situation, and realized that the bars of the cage were now very far apart. Darting to the right, she ran between two bars and made a B line for the door to the warehouse.

Nimnul tried to get around the cage in time to stomp on her like he had Roat, but she was too quick. He gave chase for only a moment, and then went to laughing. "Go ahead, run away! You don't know the first thing about being a mouse! You'll be dead in a week!" he laughed.

Susan knew Nimnul was probably right… she was doomed. Her only hope was to find shelter and find a way to communicate with someone to let them know what had happened to her. Crawling out from under the warehouse door, Susan found herself in a world much, much larger than the one she was used to. Giant clouds moved lazily across the blue sky. Tall reeds growing beside the road looked as tall as saplings to her now. The birds were singing in the trees and… wait. The birds' song sounded different now. They sounded more like… voices? Susan scurried closer to the trees, her mouse ears pricking forward through her mop of short brown headfur. Sure enough, she could understand the birds now!

"This way… just do like me," a female bird was coaching its young, trying to get the fledgling to take its first flight. "Follow me… come, follow me…" she called. But the little bird was scared and just kept calling for its mommy, which was getting slowly further and further away. Finally the young bird drew its courage up and took its first flight. Susan couldn't help but smile widely at this despite her predicament. Then she blinked and rubbed the front of her mouth, feeling the large buckteeth she had grown.

Looking around, Susan saw that the only thing close to the isolated warehouse was… the park! Yes, that was the direction they had gone in after sabotaging Nimnul's laser cannon. But that was months ago. Were they still in the area? Would they help her? Would they even be able to understand her? She quickly realized it was a chance she had to take.

Susan made her way through the high grass in the park until she found the tallest tree. She knew if she could climb it she would have a commanding view of the area. As it was, she could see little more than the rustling grass all around her. But the tree looked as tall as a skyscraper to her now. She wondered how she would ever be able to climb it. However once she started, some kind of instinct seemed to kick in and she began scurrying up the tree at a fairly rapid pace.

She was almost at the top when she came to a place where one of the main branches intersected with the bulk of the tree. Susan made her way to the topside of the branch where she found a surprise. For all intents and purposes, it looked as though someone had shoved a mailbox into the tree. Approaching slowly, Susan saw that someone, or something, had made a door on the end of the mailbox, facing outward. This makeshift door was constructed from what appeared to be glued together popsicle sticks, and it even had a crude knob of sorts.

Something above the door then caught Susan's eye. It was a red and blue symbol of some sort, with a lightning bolt down the middle and an R on either side of the bolt. 'Railroad crossing,' was Susan's first thought, but the colors were all wrong. She approached the door slowly, and then lifted a paw toward it. Susan trembled with growing anxiety, not knowing how these rodents would greet her, if they were still here at all. Would they welcome her, or attack her? Were they territorial or friendly? She would never know unless she got their attention. So finally, she knocked on the door.

A big mouse wearing a blue sweatshirt, an overcoat, and a cap with a pair of airplane goggles perched atop it- all mouse sized of course- answered the door.

"'Ello there Miss. You alright? Yer tremblin' like a bloomin' leaf, " he said in what sounded like an Australian accent.

Susan breathed a sigh of relief at being able to understand him. What's more, he seemed friendly enough and offered her a big smile. Now it was time to see if they would be able to understand her.

"W-well… you're g-going to find this hard to believe…" she paused, listening to her own words. Soon she got the hang of how to work her new muzzle and tongue, and even the stuttering disappeared. She then began explaining to the mouse everything she had been through. While she was talking, the two chipmunks she saw that day several months ago poked their heads around the large mouse and listened. Once Susan mentioned Nimnul's name, the trio exchanged knowing glances.

Then they stepped back from the door and one of the chipmunks invited her in. "My name's Chip," he said, "this is Dale, and Monterey Jack."

Another mouse then came scurrying in to the main room from down a hall. "Chip, have you seen my wrench? I know I left it… oh. We have company," the mouse smiled and approached, offering a paw. "I'm Gadget."

Susan offered her paw in return, and then peered at Gadget's shoulder. "Uh, you have a fly on your shoulder."

Gadget blinked and looked at the fly, then giggled. "Oh that's just Zipper. He lives here too."

The chipmunk that had first addressed her approached Susan again now and tugged on his small leather coat, then straightened his fedora. "We're the Rescue Rangers. And we've had problems with Nimnul before. So we'd be happy to help you out."

Susan was feeling more and more at ease by the moment. Not only were these rodents friendly, they seemed to be genuinely concerned about her and more than willing to help.

Gadget seemed very interested in Nimnul's laser gun. "Even if we can't get the gun from him, if I can find its blueprints I should be able to recreate one with no problems," she said confidently.

With those words the other Rangers all seemed to wince at the same time. Zipper flew from Gadget's shoulder and landed in Dale's fuzzy mop of reddish headfur, while Monterey, or 'Monty' as he preferred to be called, tried to hide his bulk behind Chip. Susan blinked a bit at their antics and chuckled slightly, even though Gadget gave the others a glare.

Susan told them about the warehouse and how it was located nearby. The Rangers then huddled a moment, apparently coming up with a plan before breaking up and proclaiming "Rescue Rangers, away!" The group scurried past a confused Susan and ran outside. Gadget grabbed Susan's paw almost as an afterthought and tugged her along.

"Where are we going?" Susan finally asked as she stumbled, and then scurried along with the others.

"To the Rangerplane!" Gadget answered, more than a hint of pride in her tone, as if she had built this 'Rangerplane' herself…

The contraption was the same one Susan had seen the group jump into that day after sabotaging Nimnul's laser cannon at the bank. It had two seats up front and a longer extended seat in the back, legs ending in suction cups, strange looking board-like wings, and a large balloon suspended from the top to help lighten the load further. Susan would have sworn that the body of the plane looked like an old jug of bleach.

Monty and Dale scurried into the back while Chip and Gadget got in front, Zipper landing on Monty's shoulder once he was settled.

"Hmm… the Rangerplane was only made to seat four, Susan," said Chip. "Maybe you should sit up front with Gadget, and I'll squeeze into the back."

Susan smiled at the offer but shook her head. "No Chip, you're the leader, you should sit up front. I'll manage in the back."

Monty and Dale scooted over and made room, and Susan squeezed in between Dale and the side of the plane.

"I hope I'm not cramming you, Dale," Susan said with a concerned glance at the red nosed chipmunk.

Dale only gave a big gap-toothed smile and answered "You could _never _cram me, Susan." It was then that Susan discovered that even mice can blush.

Apparently Gadget noticed and glanced over her shoulder with a mock-glare the chipmunk. "Oh Dale, stop it. You're embarrassing her."

Susan was not one to stay embarrassed for long. So she only smiled at Dale and said "No he's not. He's not embarrassing me at all." Then it was Dale's turn to blush.

Susan felt as though her stomach dropped down into her toes when the Rangerplane first took off. But after a few seconds she got used to it and enjoyed the view of the town below. It didn't take them long at all to begin closing in on the warehouse… just in time to see it explode.

The wail of approaching fire truck sirens could be heard at the Rangerplane landed near the burning building. Susan was the first out of the plane and scurried toward a gaping hole in the wall out of which black smoke was billowing. But Monty grabbed her tail and pulled her back. "Let the boys go in, they know how to handle themselves in sticky situations like this," the big mouse said gently. And sure enough, Chip and Dale were already scurrying past twisted metal girders and hopping their way into the warehouse, looking for any sign of the laser gun.

"Look, there's Nimnul!" Gadget shouted, and pointed out in front of the warehouse. The stunned and soot covered professor was stumbling outside just as the fire department arrived. The firemen had had to deal with the wreckage caused by some of Nimnul's other experiments, and so they recognized him right away and took him into custody while radioing for police backup. Gadget, Susan and Monty scrambled closer to try and hear anything Nimnul might say about the laser gun. But he seemed even more out of it than usual, waving his arms weakly while the firemen gave him oxygen. It was later determined that Nimnul had mixed a tad too much of one chemical with another while trying to make another destructive device, and nearly blew himself up.

Chip and Dale emerged from the warehouse, coughing and shaking soot from their fur.

Susan ran over to them, eyes wide. "Could you find the gun?"

Both the boys looked down at the ground, and then Chip looked up sadly. "I'm sorry Susan… it was crushed under a support beam."

Susan felt as though her entire world had been shattered, began to form again, and now was shattered once more. "Maybe there are some blueprints or plans for it inside!" her voice near hysterical as she bolted toward the hole in the wall. But the chipmunks managed to grab her, Chip pulling her back while Dale got in front and pushed her back. Susan struggled against them, trembling. "Let me go! I've got to find those blueprints… or notes… anything!" she sobbed.

"It's too late Susan, they're gone!" Chip yelled above the noise of the sirens and the roar of the flames.

"I'm sorry Susan… I'm so sorry," was all Dale could say.

Susan gave Chip a sharp elbow in the belly, knocking the air out of him just long enough for her to break free, leaving only Dale between her and the flames. Dale grabbed her shoulders to try and hold onto her. Susan struggled some more, but then gave in, wrapping her arms around Dale and crying like she never had before. She cried for the life she had known and felt that was now forever lost. Dale could only hold her and continue to say he was sorry. Susan could feel him trembling and crying too, and she just clung to him all the more tightly, before passing out.

Susan awoke on the couch back in Ranger Headquarters.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," said Chip from a nearby chair. Susan smiled weakly and thanked him, then peered out the window where she could still see traces of the smoke from the warehouse fire. Chip noticed this and moved to kneel before her, blocking her view of the window. "While you were asleep the Rangers took a vote." The others came into the room slowly then, ears pricked forward with concern for the distraught mouse on their couch. Chip glanced over his shoulder at them and smiled a bit, then looked back to Susan. "We want you to stay here as long as you want, Susan. We know how much you helped the police with Nimnul and other hi-tech criminals in the past. That's more than enough to make you an honorary Rescue Ranger."

Susan was speechless. She sat up and gazed into each of their smiling, kind faces and knew at that moment she had never felt a sense of belonging like this before. Gadget moved to sit beside Susan and slipped an arm around her shoulders. "You and I can share a room and if things work out, we can build you your own room later," she said with a smile.

Finally Susan found her voice. "Oh… thank you! Thank you everyone!" she cried, and hugged them all one by one. When she came to Dale she surprised him and herself by giving him a hug and a brief kiss on the cheek.

The next morning Susan was just coming out of Gadget's room, still rubbing sleep from her eyes. She was wearing one of Gadget's nightgowns that the inventor mouse had been kind enough to let her borrow. In fact all of her clothes save for the outfit she had on the day she moved in, were clothes borrowed from Gadget. Susan knew she would need to find or make her own clothes soon, but didn't know where to begin.

"Good morning Susan!" said two voices at the same time. She looked up to see Chip and Dale approaching from down the hall, the two chipmunks all smiles.

She couldn't help but smile back, and answer quietly "Good morning. How are you two today?"

Dale was about to answer but Chip beat him to the punch. "I'm fine thanks. I was wondering if you would like to go to the top of the tree and watch the sunrise with me?" asked Chip, ears pricking forward.

Before Susan could answer, Dale said "I've got a better idea. Why don't you let me take you on a tour of Ranger headquarters?"

Susan smiled to herself. She knew the chipmunks liked her but she also knew they were laying it on so thick to try and cheer her up after the ordeal she had been through the day before. She considered their offers a moment, letting herself enjoy being the center of attention for a little bit.

"Well Chip, it's probably cold outside this time of the morning. How about we go this evening when the sun sets?"

Chip smiled big and nodded "Sure!" He then stuck his tongue out at Dale and scurried off to the kitchen for breakfast.

Susan looked to Dale then and smiled warmly. "As for the tour… I'd be happy to go."

Dale blinked a few times. "Really? I mean, ok… sure!" he said with that gap toothed grin Susan was beginning to find very endearing.

"Give me a moment to borrow some more of Gadget's clothes," she said with a chuckle, and then slipped back into the room to change.

After getting into one of Gadget's workshop outfits, Susan followed Dale to an exercise room of sorts. Dale tried to show off by lifting a two-headed screw that served as a barbell. After much trying, he finally got it lifted… and then fell flat onto his back. Susan giggled and helped him up, then smiled and followed him to Gadget's workshop. She was amazed at the number of devices, both finished and half-finished, that were all over the workshop. There was everything from food processors to airplane parts, all made from various scraps.

"Gadget built all this, all on her own. She's always inventing stuff," said Dale, smiling widely.

Susan watched him as he spoke of Gadget, and then tilted her head a little. "You like Gadget a lot don't you Dale?" she asked on impulse.

Dale blinked and blushed, then scuffed a footpad against the floor. "Well… sorta. But I think she just has eyes for Chip. Uh, we better go eat breakfast. I'm starved!"

It became quickly apparent that Gadget was a touchy subject with Dale. Susan gently grasped his paw before he could scurry off.

"I'm sorry, Dale. I didn't mean to--" she began, but Dale cut her off.

"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be rude like that," he said, then smiled gently at her. They stood there looking into each others' eyes a second, and then stepped closer to one another, both blushing.

"Come on you two! Your food's getting cold!" Chip called out from the kitchen. Dale and Susan blinked out of it then and chuckled before heading into the kitchen for breakfast.

While the sunrise was clear and bright, rain and wind moved in when the sun was setting that evening.

A couple of weeks passed, during which time Susan learned more about life as a mouse. At first she thought the Rangers wore the same clothing every day and then realized that they had several outfits that were simply identical. The reason for this was that chipmunk and mouse clothing was cut and tailored from human clothing. Dale for instance had perhaps a dozen Hawaiian print shirts that had once been part of a human shirt of the same fabric.

Susan had remembered seeing squirrels making off with clothes in the past while strolling through the park but she just figured they used the fabric as nesting material. Of course, the Rangers did not steal from humans… well, not very often anyway. Who would miss a few peanuts from the store or a couple slices of cheese from the deli? And if someone's shirt was hanging out to dry and got blown away by the wind, it was fair game. One human shirt could provide enough material to keep a mouse family clothed for years.

Susan also began lending Gadget a paw in her workshop, using her knowledge of physics and her fascination with the inventor's devices to help her with some of her projects. She began learning how to pilot the Rangerplane and Rangerwing as well, since Gadget wouldn't trust Monty or Dale with the controls, and Zipper was too small to fly; other than with his own wings. During one of their piloting lessons Susan asked Gadget why she hadn't trained Chip to fly, since he seemed intelligent and capable. Gadget only blushed slightly and said that Chip got too flirty when they were alone together. Susan grinned at that but didn't prod Gadget any further, deciding not to go there.

Then one evening Gadget and Susan had just gotten back from one of their flights and Susan was heading into the living room to relax and unwind. She and Dale liked many of the same television shows and movies, and she knew there was a monster flick coming on in a few moments that they were both wanting to see. She figured the red nosed chipmunk was already parked on the couch munching away on part of a Reese cup, which she would have to wrestle him to get even a nibble of.

But before she could make it into the living room Chip spotted her passing by his doorway and came bounding out. "Hi Susan, how was the flight?" he asked.

Susan smiled a bit and brushed her paw through her windblown headfur. "It was okay. I almost took us too high at one point and Gadget grabbed the controls, saying she didn't want us getting caught up in the jet stream."

Chip grimaced at that and nodded. "That's what happened one time when she tried to be nice and show Dale how to fly the Rangerwing," he said with a roll of his eyes. "We ended up clear over in Asia!"

Susan chuckled a bit and perked an ear. "I can just imagine the look on Dale's face when he realized what he had done," she grinned to herself, thinking she had something new to tease Dale about now. She had been hearing quite a few stories about the Rangers' adventures, some of which were embarrassing for certain members of the team. "Where is Dale anyhow?" she asked.

Chip blinked a couple times and shrugged. "Probably laying stretched out asleep somewhere, knowing him," he smirked, and then hooked an arm around Susan's. "How bout you show me what you've learned so far from Gadget about the Rangerwing?" he asked, and began escorting her back outside before she could respond.

She fidgeted a little as she remembered what Gadget said about Chip getting flirty when alone with her. "I don't know Chip… I'm still not certain of what I'm doing."

Chip only smiled at her. "I'm sure we can figure it out together."

The two of them nearly bumped into Gadget as she was coming in the door, the inventor mouse having lingered outside to see if a screw she found laying on the landing pad belonged in the Rangerwing.

Susan saw this as her chance and smiled, squirming free from Chip's grip and taking Gadget's paw. "Gadget, Chip wants to learn how to fly the Rangerwing too. I told him I'm still not very confident in my piloting skills yet, and thought maybe you could give him a few lessons?" Susan asked, giving Gadget an almost pleading look.

Gadget blinked a few times and looked as though she was about to come up with some excuse to back out, but then smiled and nodded. "Sure... I'd be happy to."

Chip blinked a bit and said "But I wanted Susan to--"

"Thanks Gadget!" Susan said, and hugged her friend, murmuring into her ear "I owe you one."

Gadget replied with a very quiet "Yes you do," then smiled and took Chip's paw, leading the still somewhat confused chipmunk to the Rangerwing.

Susan breathed a sigh of relief and scurried back inside. This had been the latest of several plans and schemes that Chip had come up with to try and get her alone and make passes at her. Susan liked Chip as a friend and respected him as the leader of the Rangers… but he just didn't seem to be her type. And every time he made a snide comment or picked a fight with Dale, it took everything she had to keep from giving him a slap across the muzzle. She knew the two of them had been best friends for years and got into occasional squabbles, but there were times she wondered why Dale put up with Chip's sometimes superior attitude.

As Susan stepped into the living room she heard Dale before she saw him. "Darn it… I just cut this one out."

The mouse tilted her head curiously and padded around the couch, then chuckled as she saw the chipmunk's predicament. He had on one of his newer Hawaiian print shirts, sporting a fresh chocolate stain right in the center. "Sat staring at the TV and let chocolate melt in your paw and drip on your shirt again?" she asked knowingly.

Dale blinked and looked up at her, then offered a sheepish smile, his two square front teeth showing only a little. "Yeah… they were showing a preview of that new Metahumans movie."

Susan blinked and flopped down on the couch beside Dale. "And I missed it? Crud… when's it coming out?"

Dale smiled and waggled his short tail a little, happy to have someone around to chat about movies with. "Later next month… I was thinking of sneaking down to the theater to watch it. Wanna come along?"

Susan grinned. "Just try and stop me. I want to see Robolord get what he has coming to him."

Dale laughed and grinned widely "Cool! We can get into the Reese cups like last time, and sit up in the rafters." Then he remembered the chocolate on his shirt and went to rubbing at it again.

Susan glanced over at him and smirked. "You're only making it worse. Hold on a sec."

She scurried off into the kitchen, then back through and into the laundry room, Dale watching her zip by curiously. Soon she returned with a thimble of vinegar and liquid laundry detergent mixed together, and a small rag. She dipped the rag in the mixture and pawed it to him. "Try this."

Dale sniffed at the rag and made a face. Susan chuckled and sat down beside him again. "Don't sniff it, rub it on the stain," she chided.

Dale smirked a bit. "Uh, I knew that," he replied, then began clumsily rubbing the damp cloth over the stain, holding the cloth with his fingertips to try and keep the vinegar off his paw. Susan watched him a moment, then smirked and took the cloth from him.

"Chip said you hated cleaning… I see what he means," she chuckled, and then began dabbing the cloth along the chipmunk's shirt, leaning over him slightly so that she could see what she was doing.

Dale blinked and squirmed a bit. "Hey, that tickles!" he chuckled, squirming more. Susan poked his belly "Hold still," she said sternly.

Dale froze, watching her. "Yes Ma'am."

After a few seconds, Susan began to grow aware of how close to Dale she was and that the silence was starting to become awkward. She could feel herself beginning to blush, and if she had glanced up at Dale she would have seen him doing the same.

Instead she decided to talk about something. "So… I hear that you tried your paw at flying the Rangerwing too."

Dale blinked and reddened even more. "Oh boy… you've been talking with Chip again haven't you?"

She glanced up at him and grinned slightly "A little. He told me about you getting everyone lost in Asia."

He huffed and straightened his now clean shirt. "We weren't lost. I knew where we were the entire time."

Susan smirked and set the thimble and cloth aside, then sat back on the couch again. "Whatever," she teased, nudging his foot with hers. He nudged back and within a few seconds they were foot wrestling, each trying to pin the other's foot to the floor, both chuckling and giggling. Susan was very serious and focused a lot of the time. But when she was around Dale she felt happy and carefree… which she found very refreshing.

Dale managed to pin her foot, then grinned widely. "Ha! Gotcha," he said.

"Yeah, you do," Susan answered with a smile, looking into those brown eyes of his that were twinkling with mischief. She saw that look change, Dale's grin softening into a shier smile.

Before she even realized what she was doing, Susan leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Dale's lips. She could've counted the number of times she had kissed a man on one hand and now she was a mouse, trying to kiss a chipmunk. Somehow though, she felt that Dale was similarly inexperienced about the whole thing though he certainly made no move to stop her. Susan felt a tingle go down her spine and Dale could have sworn his headfur stood on end, as if he had been zapped by static electricity.

Then a roar came from the TV and they both jumped and peered at the screen in time to see a giant lizard stomping its way through a major city. Dale and Susan soon became engrossed in the movie but exchanged shy glances from time to time and sat close to each other on the couch. Gadget would be out with Chip in the Rangerwing for a while and Monty and Zipper were out looking for some kind of rare cheese. So Dale and Susan took advantage of the situation and had a lot of chocolate, watched a lot of monster movies, and enjoyed what may have been the unspoken beginning of something special.

Over the next couple of weeks Susan found herself missing being human less and less. She was getting more accustomed to being a mouse thanks to the help of her very understanding and kind friends.

Then one day, Susan was helping Gadget with the dishes and making small talk when suddenly Susan asked "Gadget, do you like Dale?"

Gadget looked sort of confused at first, then shrugged. "I like him as a good friend, yes. Why do you ask?"

Susan gazed out the window and answered "I know I haven't been a mouse very long, and there are still a lot of things I need to get used to. But Dale's been so good to me… he makes me laugh… when he grins it's like I feel the sun is shining on me..." she blushed and glanced at Gadget. "I think I'm falling in love. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't already… uh… taken."

Gadget blinked at that thought and giggled briefly "Oh don't worry, he's not. But don't you think things might be moving a little too quickly?"

Before Susan could answer she and Gadget heard shouting coming from the living room. They scurried in there in time to see Chip and Dale in each others' faces.

"I saw her first!" yelled Chip.

"She kissed me!" retorted Dale.

"That doesn't mean anything!" said Chip.

"I'm the one she likes, not you," said Dale, and then crossed his arms over his chest.

Chip gritted his teeth before pouncing Dale, the two chipmunks soon rolling about on the floor, kicking and punching until Monty broke them up.

Susan quickly realized they were fighting over her. She had seen the two of them squabbling and wrestling around before but this seemed much more serious. They had both been so good to her… all of them had. And now they were at each others' throats, because of her. She quickly bolted from the room and ran to Gadget's room, locking herself in.

Chip and Dale both took out after Susan upon seeing the stricken look on her face. But Gadget stopped Chip and quietly told him what Susan had told her in the kitchen. She then kissed him briefly on the cheek. "Besides, I thought I was the one you liked," Gadget said with a hint of coyness, then wandered off down the hall.

Chip gaped at her. "I did… I mean, I do. I mean, I didn't think you liked me like that… do you?" But she was already gone.

Dale knocked on Gadget's door though for once it wasn't Gadget he was longing to see. "Susan… please, let me in. Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad," came Susan's reply through the door. "I'm packing the stuff Gadget said I could have. I refuse to be the reason two best friends break up."

Dale rested his head against the door and sighed. "Chip and I are always fighting, you know that. Please Susan… let me in. Please?" he whimpered.

Susan could hear the pain in his voice and she couldn't stand it. She opened the door slowly, and then stood back so he could come in. "Dale… I like you… a lot," she said, reaching out to run her fingers through the fur along the side of his muzzle. "You make me feel really special… and I like you just the way you are. But I can't have you and Chip fighting over me like I'm a piece of property."

"I'm sorry Susan… I don't think you're property," he rested his paws on her shoulders, his eyes filling with tears. "Please don't leave. I… I love you."

That was all Susan needed to hear. "Oh Dale… I love you too," she cried, and wrapped her arms around him. They stood there, just hugging and crying for a long while before gently wiping the tears away from each other's eyes. Finally they kissed… and then again, longer. Soon Dale picked Susan up and carried her to her bed. Neither of them was seen again until the next morning.

Feeling self-conscious about keeping Gadget's room occupied all night, Susan set out to look for her friend early the next morning, while Dale was still asleep in her bed. She found Gadget in the kitchen making breakfast… and wearing Chip's hat! Susan blinked and then grinned a little. "Nice hat," she commented casually.

Gadget jumped, having thought she was alone. Then she blinked and looked up at the hat before quickly taking it off. "Oops! I knew I'd do something wrong," she said, while blushing fiercely.

Chip and Gadget took things slowly; having known each other for a long time and not wanting to start a relationship unless they were certain it was the right thing to do. Both agreed that they would rather be good friends rather than have neither a lover nor a friend if things did not work out. On the other paw, Dale and Susan began dating in earnest. They went to movies together, cuddled up and read comics together, playfully fought over chocolate and candy, and made sure to watch each others' backs during missions.

Then a knock on the door late one evening tested the mettle of Dale and Susan's budding relationship. The two of them were passed out on the couch, having come down from a sugar rush after eating too much chocolate and peanut butter. The knocking was persistent though and Susan gradually woke up, lifting her head off Dale's shoulder. She vaguely remembered Gadget having wanted to show everyone her latest invention. Susan had helped her build it though and they had tested it earlier, and Dale was too engrossed in a movie to go see. So Susan had camped out with him on the couch, stealing chocolate kisses during commercials and having occasional tickle fights.

Susan smiled at the still sleeping chipmunk and kissed his red nose, then got to her feet and went to the door, opening it slightly and peering out into the night. There stood a female bat, looking unsure of where she was, glancing around as if to get her bearings.

Susan tilted her head a little, the last of the cobwebs from the nap leaving her mind. "Hello. Are you ok?" she asked.

The bat jumped slightly, and then peered at Susan. "Oh… hello; I must have the wrong tree. I'm looking for the Rescue Rangers."

Susan smiled and opened the door a little further. "That's us. How can we help you?"

By this time the cool air wafting in through the door had woke Dale. He got to his feet and scratched the back of his head, then stretched and approached the door. "Susan? Something wrong?" he asked sleepily.

The bat's eyes virtually lit up at the sound of Dale's voice, and she barreled past Susan, all but pouncing Dale and wrapping her wings around him. "Dale! Oh Dale, I've missed you! I'm sorry I've been gone so long," she whimpered.

Dale blinked and pawed blindly, his face buried in bat fur. After a moment he managed to squirm free and get a look at who was hugging him, though he already had a good idea. "Foxglove… uh, hi. I've uh, missed you too. Where you been?"

Susan had watched Foxglove streak by her and hug Dale, the mouse then closing the door and blinking when Dale said the bat's name. She remembered him telling her about this bat and how she developed a crush on him during a mission. Susan had asked him if he returned the feelings but he had gotten embarrassed and avoided the question. Despite her misgivings though, Susan smiled a bit. "I'll go get the others," she said, then headed for Gadget's workshop.

A few moments later the rest of the group entered the living room, where they paused and stared at Foxglove with her wings around Dale, planting dozens of little kisses all over his face and muzzle, cooing softly to him between kisses.

Monty finally cleared his throat and stepped forward. "'Ey there Foxy. Haven't seen you in at least five moons now. Everythin' alright?"

Dale took advantage of Foxglove's distraction and squirmed away from her, scurrying over to stand beside Susan, red faced and embarrassed.

Foxglove smiled at the group. "Hello everyone… it's good to see you all again." She glanced between Dale and Susan curiously, her gaze then lingering on the mouse.

Chip then spoke up. "Foxglove, this is Susan. She joined us a few months ago after Professor Nimnul changed her from a human into a mouse."

Foxglove gasped and placed a paw over her muzzle briefly. "Oh my, that's awful. It sounds like something Winnifred would have done." She smiled sympathetically at Susan then. "Maybe I can change you back. I've been studying magic for a long time now."

Susan blinked at the thought, but only smiled and slipped an arm around Dale's shoulders. "At one time I probably would have taken you up on that offer. But I'm very happy where I am now," she said.

Foxglove nodded slightly and averted her gaze briefly, then smiled wider. "That's what I came to tell you all though: I finished my studies. Now I'm a real witch. I only know a few spells so far but I'm learning fast."

Everyone smiled and congratulated her, and they all began catching up. No one broached the subject of Dale and Susan dating, as it was obvious that Foxglove still had feelings for Dale. It would be up to Dale to let Foxglove know he was taken… if that is the way he felt. The chipmunk had been quiet and shy ever since Foxglove's arrival, making it difficult for even Susan to know for sure where his feelings were.

Foxglove explained that she was just passing through, not sure of how long she would be staying in town. She needed someplace to sleep after a long flight and she remembered the Rangers having told her she would always be welcomed with them. The group exchanged uncertain glances, everyone looking at Dale at least a few times to gauge his reaction. But he stayed quiet and unreadable, which was so unlike him.

Eventually Chip took the lead and smiled a bit "Sure Foxy… you can stay with us a bit. Hope you don't mind sleeping on the couch tough; all of our rooms are occupied right now."

Foxglove smiled and nodded "That's fine. As long as I get to spend time with you again, I don't care where I am," she said warmly. While she may have been addressing the group as a whole, it was pretty obvious she was watching Dale as she spoke.

Susan had difficulty sleeping that night. She tossed and turned fitfully, then finally gave up and slipped quietly out of Gadget's room, being careful not to wake the sleeping mouse in the other bed. She padded down the hall toward the kitchen for a glass of warm milk but paused outside the kitchen doorway upon hearing voices from within. Normally she would not eavesdrop but she recognized these voices and knew that making her presence known might have made things very awkward.

"Foxy, you're gonna have to stop flirting around so much," Dale said softly.

Foxglove's voice answered with a hint of confusion and pain in her tone. "But why Dale? You know how I feel about you."

Susan peeked in then and saw Foxglove standing close to Dale, her wings on his shoulders, decked out in her witch's garb. Dale was in his night shirt and matching Hawaiian print cap, a forgotten sandwich in his paw. Apparently Susan wasn't the only one that had had trouble sleeping tonight.

Dale sat the sandwich on the table, and then took one of Foxglove's wings gently in his paw. "Come on, lets talk outside," he said softly, then stepped out the backdoor with her.

Susan closed her eyes and shivered, feeling ill. She was very tempted to slip close to the backdoor and listen but she would not lower herself to such an act. Instead she went back to bed and laid staring up at the ceiling the rest of the night. If Dale chose Foxglove over her, she trusted he would come to her and tell her so… even if it broke her heart.

The next morning Gadget asked Susan to help her make some upgrades to the Rangermobile. There was no sign of Dale or Foxglove, and the couch looked like it had not been slept on. Neither of them showed up for breakfast and Chip said that Dale wasn't in their room when he woke up that morning.

Susan felt as though she had been kicked in the stomach, and then hit on the back of the head after she doubled over. The sympathetic looks the other Rangers gave her over the breakfast table didn't help matters any. The last thing she wanted right now was to feel pitied. Soon she excused herself from the table and went outside to get a head start on the upgrades to the Rangermobile.

That's when she saw them. Having heard Dale's familiar laughter coming from above, she peered up into the morning sky to see Foxglove and Dale flying together, Dale being aided by some sort of glider. They made figure 8s in the sky together, almost touching on occasion.

Gadget stepped outside then and heard the laughter. "Where's Dale? I hear him but I don't see him anywhere," she said.

"Foxglove has him," Susan answered, her voice devoid of emotion.

Gadget glanced over at her mouse friend and blinked at the stricken look on Susan's face, having never seen her look so pained before. Then she looked up, following Susan's gaze up into the sky where Foxglove and Dale were.

"Susan… maybe it's not what you think," Gadget tried, but Susan ignored her and started for the Rangermobile, hoping to take her mind off things by working.

About an hour later the sun rose high enough to become too much of a nuisance for Foxglove to handle. She flew down and landed before padding drowsily inside Ranger HQ to sleep the day away. Dale managed to land his glider near the Rangermobile without too much trouble, and then smiled over at Gadget and Susan.

"Hey girls! Did I look good up there? Foxglove taught me a lot more about…" he trailed off, seeing the stern look Gadget was giving him. "What?" he asked then looked at Susan, who was busily working and ignoring him. "Something the matter?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"It's fine Dale. Everything's just fine…" Susan managed, before throwing down her tools and heading inside at a quick pace.

Dale blinked and moved to follow, but had some trouble unbuckling himself from the glider. "Susan wait! What's wrong?" he asked while fighting with the buckle. But she was already inside, slamming the door behind her.

Gadget padded over and calmly freed Dale from the glider, still peering at him sternly. "Dale… how could you?"

Dale blinked at her. "How could I what?"

Gadget sighed, knowing how dense he could be at times. "Start dating Foxglove while knowing how Susan feels about you, that's what."

Dale looked confused a moment longer, then realization dawned on him. "Oh no… Susan thinks that Foxglove and I…? Oh no…" he whimpered, and then bolted inside.

He rushed into the living room and looked around frantically. Foxglove was curled up asleep on the couch, her wings covering her. Monty was sitting in a chair watching TV. He glanced up at Dale then nodded in the direction of Gadget's workshop.

Dale bounded down the hall on all fours and entered the workshop, his heart pounding in his chest. "Susan? Are you in here?" Then he spotted her in the back of the shop, rummaging around for a part for the Rangermobile.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, tears in her eyes. "I figured you'd be cuddled up on the couch with Foxglove by now…" she said, and then remembered their first kiss on that couch. The tears fell, streaking down the sides of her muzzle.

Dale ran quickly over to her. "Susan, you don't understand. I--"

"I understand perfectly Dale," Susan interrupted. "You met her before me… you had feelings for her before you did me. I just wish you could have told me."

Dale shook his head vigorously. "No, that's not the way it--"

But Susan stopped him again. "I heard you in the kitchen last night with her, Dale!" she cried. "Then Chip said you weren't in the room this morning… and then you were flying with her and laughing with her. I can only imagine what else you did with her before the sun rose this morning," she sobbed. "Damn it Dale, I loved you!" And then she froze.

Dale was trembling, tears pouring down his face while he stared at her in disbelief. She could clearly see the hurt in his eyes… pain she had put there with her words. In that instant she knew that everything she suspected was wrong. Then Dale turned and ran from the workshop.

"Dale…? Dale!" Susan cried, and scurried after him. She found him in his and Chip's room, curled up on his bunk, trembling. She climbed up and lay down behind him, spooning her body against his and gently wrapping her arms around his front. She could feel him sobbing and hear him sniffling. The knowledge that she had caused him this pain was enough to make her feel like someone had stabbed her in the heart. And that someone wasn't Foxglove or Dale, but she herself.

"Dale… I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear. "I'm so sorry. I just knew Foxglove liked you and I…" she trailed off.

"N-nothing happened with Foxglove last night, Susan," Dale managed between sobs. "I told her about you… told her that I loved you, and wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. She was happy for me and said we could still be friends. B-but then I was stupid and lost track of time and I hurt you..." He rolled over to face her, the fur on his face wet with his tears and his chin trembling.

"Oh Dale…" she whispered softly, and gently kissed his tear streaked face. "I'm so sorry for doubting you. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you in any way… you mean everything to me," she whimpered, then kissed him gently. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Dale managed a weak smile and nodded, then rubbed his muzzle alongside hers. "Of course I forgive you. And I'm sorry for all this… mess," he sighed.

She kissed him on the forehead gently and held him close, clinging to him as tightly as he clung to her. "We both made mistakes… but it's over now. And we're back where we belong," she said softly, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

A few days later, Foxglove moved on. The Rangers tried to talk her into staying longer and maybe even joining them eventually, but she said it was for the best. Besides, she wanted to find someplace remote to practice her magic without risk of accidentally turning anyone into a frog or the like.

Not long afterward, a new room was built for Susan and Dale. It was quite a task, getting all of Dale's comic books, games and stuff out of his and Chip's room. But Susan was never so happy to be living in a room full of junk, as long as it was Dale's junk and he was there with her.

Susan Walker had once been a secretary working long hours to try and make ends meet, while studying at a renowned university at the same time. Now she was a mouse, living in a tree with her chipmunk lover and her best friends, all of which were mice and chipmunks, and one fly. She wouldn't become human again now if she could. Maybe one day Nimnul's nemesis will get the chance to thank him for what he did for her.

The End


End file.
